


Eight-Nine-Three

by phantogram



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Yakuza, Eventual Killugon, Eventual hisoillu, Illumi is a tattoo artist bet you didn't see that coming, Inspired by tumblr user princequeerdeer's art, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, So basically I saw art and thought YOOO, The lawyer Zoldycks never seemed to really click with me, Yakuza Zoldycks do though, Yubitsume, criminal activity, idk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-04-25 05:45:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4948876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantogram/pseuds/phantogram
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Father," Killua utters as he enters Silva's office. His head hangs low. The sound of a chair swiveling is all the confirmation that Killua needs to know he's got his father's attention. He steps forward, gripping the cloth in his palm tightly. "Forgive Alluka," he utters, his blood feeling more like ice in his veins than ever as he places the swaddled cloth on his father's desk. He steps back, bowing as Silva considers his offering. "You're dismissed," is all Killua receives.<br/>"Yes, father," is all he can manage before turning to leave. Once he's safely down the hall and away from Silva's office, he stops, bringing his left hand up and staring at the still-bleeding remaining half of his little finger. He grits his teeth tightly, and forces himself to continue walking to his respective space in the expansive mansion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [princequeerdeer](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=princequeerdeer).



> "Sleeplessly embracing; butterflies and needles line my seamed up joints. Encased in case I need it; in my stomach, from my heart; chain mail."  
> Chapter track: Hunger of the Pine by Alt-J

The silence in the air was only broken when Hisoka let out a blissful sigh. Illumi didn't particularly care for small-talk while he worked, which Hisoka had learned after his second tattoo. Illumi didn't really care for much, Hisoka had concluded. That blank gaze of his would be unnerving to any ordinary person. Thankfully enough, Hisoka wasn't ordinary.  
He had a talent for being able to dissect a person just by looking at them. But not Illumi. He supposed it's due to the lack of footholds he has in his personality. If personality traits were boulders, Illumi was a sheer cliff face, and Hisoka was having a hard time conquering him. But he'd continue to come in and see Illumi until he broke. And oh, how he couldn't wait until the raven-tressed man broke. Until then, however, he would watch the unwavering concentration of those wide black eyes.

Hisoka would leave with a fresh tattoo and not more than four sentences from the man.

~ ~ ~

Killua's favorite part of the day is playing with Alluka when he gets home at night. He spends all his free time with her, so she wouldn't feel so lonely locked up in this concrete cell Father kept her in. He was truly the only one in their family that understood Alluka, loved her the way a brother should love his sister. The family treated her as a burden, the blade severing the seams keeping this family tightly bound to one another; because of that, Killua spent every moment he could trying to make her happy. There were plenty of reasons the family ties were loosening, but Alluka wasn't one of them.

When seams are pulled too tightly, they're more liable to snap, and recoil from one another.

"Onii-san," Alluka whined from behind Killua. Small arms wrapping around his waist snapped him back to reality. He' been dwelling again, he realized, as he unclenched his fists. Broken pieces of a toy car tinkled softly as they fell to the floor. "I'm sorry I broke your toy, Alluka. I'll get you a new one, I promise." He turns to look down at her. "Promise?" She asks, extending her hand to Killua, pinky raised. Killua nods, wrapping the remaining half of his pinky around Alluka's. "I promise."


	2. Breezeblocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter track: Breezeblocks--Alt-J

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the really long wait, I got very sick and was out of action for about a month. It was absolute hell. But! Here I am now with an update. Enjoy!
> 
> *not beta read! If there are mistakes, or if you have constructive criticism, please let me know!*

It had been decided, from the day that Killua was born, that he would be the future head of the family, the next Oyabun of the Zoldyck gang. The Zoldycks specialized in assassination, but also operated several gambling houses throughout the region. His brother and father were grooming him to become the best Zoldyck heir the yakuza had ever seen.

And from day one, he felt like he wasn't meant for this. 

He is currently fifteen years old, trained in the art of assassination, and beginning his initiation into the "family business". This entails a short sake-sharing ceremony, followed by a much longer hand-poked tattoo session with that creepy older brother of his. He watches the golden liquid flow into the cup as his father poured it, feeling anxious. Trapped. This was it. Once he sat through this ceremony, there was no way out. He would never be able to live a normal life, or get a normal job, never make friends; only business partners. As he watched the sake pass through his father's lips, all he could think about was that he didn't want that fate. He didn't want any of it. He had to get away.   
The cup was handed to him, and he only stared at it for a moment. Silva raised his eyebrows and stops speaking for a moment, questioning Killua silently. God, he hadn't even realized his father had been talking. He takes the sake, downing it in one fluid motion as he tries to listen to his father. "....is a big responsibility, after all. I'm so proud to call you my heir. You've got a lot of potential, I know you'll do great things as the Oyabun. The entirety of Japan would be in their right mind to fear the Zoldyck name." Killua felt the back of his neck prickle, and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Silva brought his thumb to his mouth, and when he pulled it away, a small red bead began to form. Killua knew this well, had seen both his older brothers do the same. He copied his father, biting the end of his thumb and drawing blood. Their fingers pressed together, sealing Killua's fate. Killua smiled at his father, but it didn't really reach his eyes. 

"Father and I are both proud, Killu," Illumi said casually as he prepared Killua for his first tattoo. Killua only grunts in response. He may have to pretend for his father, but there was no way in hell anyone could make him play nice with Illumi. Laying on his stomach, Illumi wouldn't be able to see his face anyways. "Regardless, you know that you can't relax yet. You must do even better now, in fact. You won't be Oyabun for awhile now, of course. This is only the first step." Illumi prattles. That brain-dead brother of his never said more than two words unless it was about Killua's "responsibilities".   
The first prick came as a surprise, and he gasped a bit. Stupid Illumi...hasn't he ever heard of warnings? The first was quickly followed by the second, and so on. His brother, despite lacking a personality, emotional intelligence, and general common sense, was VERY good at tattoos. He supposed, in some universe, that might make up for the fact that he as a person was very monotonous. Today, he'd be getting the base for the Zoldyck gang tattoo: long, arching lines over his shoulders and down his chest that resembled sun rays, a giant dragon coiling itself into knots on his back, and the family name tattooed in kanji on his lower back. He'd be getting colors in his next session with his brother, which only means he has to sit through another session with his brother. There were likely many more to come. Joy.   
At some point during the session, while he was still lying on his stomach, he'd begun to drift off and daydream. It was cut short when he felt a hand card through his hair, though. He flinched. "What," he grumbles. He hears Illumi click his tongue. "I asked if you would please sit up and face me," he commands. Killua hadn't even heard him speak. He sits up, facing his brother. He'd been with his brother for a good hour and a half now, and he was only just noticing that Illumi wasn't wearing a shirt, the way he did when they sparred. He was only wearing a pair of loose, black canvas-material joggers, and half his hair up in a loosely knotted bun with golden pins jutting out at odd angles. Killua found himself staring at the tattoos covering almost every inch of Illumi's torso. With a jolt of panic, he realized that he would be covered from his neck down as well one day. Illumi was only twenty seven, and mindlessly devoted to the yakuza. Killua didn't want to be like that. Not now, not ever. He had to run. 

By the time the tattoo session was over, and he had been bandaged and sent to see his mother, he had decided that he was going to leave that day, and the only time he would come back is to take Alluka once he found a safe place for them to go. He stopped in his room, finding a small hand-held mirror that he kept in his personal bathroom. He smashed it against the corner of the sink, the glass shattering with a loud pop, then clattering onto the floor. He took a piece, leaving the rest. He held it tightly in his palm, the jagged edges biting at his skin as he walked down the hall to greet his mother as an official member of the Zoldyck gang.   
As expected, when she saw him, she squealed with glee and extended her arms to him, urging him to embrace her. He calmly complies to her silent request, walking forward and letting her arms envelope him as she gushed about how he was finally a man, and how she was so proud. The only response he offered was dragging the shard of glass along her cheek, slicing her skin open quickly and leaping back as she screeched. Milluki rushed to her side, as Killua bolted through the mansion and made for the door. He could hear shouting and frantic footfalls echoing through the hallways as he heaved open the front door, yanking up the skateboard leaning against the doorframe and fleeing into the pitch blackness. His heart was racing, his adrenaline pulsing through his limbs. It would be a miracle if he made it to the front gate without being stopped.  
When the front gate came into view, his heart leapt, and he willed his legs to carry him faster. He reaches his hand out toward the gate as he gets closer, a shining beacon of salvation in the night. Gates one through three open, the weighted doors meant to prevent intruders from entering being forcibly opened with the strength that Killua hurls himself at them. He drops his skateboard to the ground and launches himself down the street, and doesn't slow up until he can no longer see the gates. He is by no means safe, but he knows that it will be more difficult to haul him home if he was this far away. He needed to get to a city, somewhere with plenty of people, where he could blend easily into the background.   
He finally collapsed onto the pavement in front of some huge apartment building in a city some ten miles away. It was probably three in the morning. He didn't count on it being so cold. He forgot that he needed food. All he had was the change in his pocket, and he needed to save it. He leans in the doorway of the building, curling up against the cement blocks. He could rest here for tonight, right...? He would be safe enough here. He was far enough away. His eyes flutter closed, and he drifts off into a reluctant sleep.


End file.
